How to Use Group Actions

Why This Matters

Group Actions lets you work with multiple contacts at once instead of performing the same task dozens or hundreds of times individually. Whether you're sending a newsletter to all clients, assigning tasks to a specific group, or updating contact information in bulk, Group Actions saves hours of repetitive work while ensuring consistency across your communications.

This guide will walk you through building a workgroup of contacts and performing actions on them, so you can start working more efficiently today.

Before You Begin

Know which contacts you want to work with: Before opening Group Actions, decide which contacts you need. Are you targeting all clients? Everyone with a specific tag? Leads from a particular source? Having clarity on your criteria makes the process faster.

Prepare any templates or materials: If you're sending an email blast, create and test your email template first. If you're adding notes, draft your note text. Having these ready before you build your workgroup streamlines the process.

Understand opt-in status for email actions: If you plan to send emails, remember that only opted-in contacts will receive them. The system automatically excludes contacts who aren't opted-in, so don't worry about accidentally emailing people without permission.

Consider starting small: If this is your first time using Group Actions, start with a small workgroup to get comfortable with the process before scaling up to larger groups.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to Group Actions

Go to Contacts in your main navigation menu and select Group Actions from the dropdown. The Group Actions page opens, showing tabs for ACTIONS, ADD CONTACTS, REMOVE CONTACTS, and MANAGE.

This is your control center for working with multiple contacts simultaneously.

Time: 30 seconds

2. Clear Your Workgroup (Optional)

If you've used Group Actions before and contacts remain in your workgroup from a previous session, click Clear Workgroup in the top right corner. This empties your workgroup so you can start with a clean slate.

Skip this step if your workgroup is already empty or if you want to keep existing contacts and add more to them.

Time: 10 seconds

3. Choose Your Method for Adding Contacts

You have two main approaches for building your workgroup:

Option A: Start from Contact List. Use this when you need complex filtering or want to see your contacts before adding them. Navigate to your Contact List, apply filters (category, source, tag, date range, etc.), then click Send Results to Group Actions. All visible contacts are added to your workgroup instantly. Then return to Group Actions to continue.

Option B: Add Directly in Group Actions. Use this when you know exactly which categories, tags, or sources you want. Stay on the Group Actions page and click the ADD CONTACTS tab to proceed with the next steps.

For this guide, we'll continue with Option B (adding directly in Group Actions), as it's the most common method.

Time: 1-2 minutes

4. Add Contacts by Category, Tag, or Source

Look at the ADD CONTACTS tab. You'll see sections for "Add by Category," "Add by Tag," "Add by Source," and "Add by Category 2." Each section displays buttons with your available options and the number of contacts in parentheses.

Click the buttons that match the contacts you want in your workgroup. Click Clients (135) to add all 135 contacts in the Clients category. Click VIP (100) under Add by Tag to add all contacts with the VIP tag. Click Landing Page (72) under Add by Source to add everyone who came from landing pages.

You can click multiple buttons across different sections. The system adds contacts cumulatively—clicking "Clients" and then "VIP" adds all clients plus all VIP-tagged contacts to your workgroup. The "Contacts in Workgroup" counter in the top right updates with each click.

At the top of the page, you can select a specific team member from the Team Database dropdown if you want to work with contacts from someone else's database.

Time: 1-3 minutes

5. Refine Your Workgroup (Optional)

If you need to add more contacts or exclude certain groups, use the ADD CONTACTS and REMOVE CONTACTS tabs to refine your selection.

To add more contacts: Stay on the ADD CONTACTS tab and click additional category, tag, or source buttons. These contacts are added to your existing workgroup without clearing what's already there.

To remove contacts: Click the REMOVE CONTACTS tab. You'll see the same category, tag, and source options. Click any button to remove all matching contacts from your workgroup. For example, click the "Do Not Email" tag to exclude anyone with that tag.

To review and remove individuals: Click the MANAGE tab to see a list of every contact currently in your workgroup. You can remove specific individuals one at a time by clicking the remove option next to their name. This is perfect for final quality control before taking action.

Time: 2-5 minutes

6. Review Workgroup Details

Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the "About This Workgroup" section. This shows important information about your contacts including how many contacts are Opted-In to receive emails, contacts that need email validation, contacts with opt-in status of Unknown, Bounced, or Opt-Out, and contacts with incomplete email or postal addresses.

Review these numbers to understand what will happen when you take action. For example, if you're planning an email blast and see that only 50 of your 100 contacts are opted-in, you'll know the email will reach 50 people, not 100.

Click List Contacts next to any category to see specific names, or click Remove from Workgroup to exclude contacts who shouldn't receive your action.

Time: 2-3 minutes

7. Select Your Action

Click the ACTIONS tab at the top of the page. You'll see all available group actions organized into categories: Online, Offline, Notes & To-Dos, and Utilities.

Click the action you want to perform on your workgroup. Common actions include Email Blast (send an email to everyone in your workgroup), Batch Add Note (add the same note to all contact records), Assign a To-Do (create a task related to your workgroup), Validate Email Addresses (check email deliverability for the group), Autoresponder Campaigns (enroll contacts in an automated email sequence), Group Edit (update fields for multiple contacts simultaneously), and Export Data (download your workgroup as a spreadsheet).

Clicking an action opens a new page or dialog with specific options for that action.

Time: 1 minute

8. Configure and Execute Your Action

Follow the prompts for your selected action. Each action has its own configuration options.

For Email Blast: Select your email template, choose whether to add a note to contact records, decide between sending immediately or scheduling for later, then click Send Blast Now or Schedule This Blast.

For Batch Add Note: Type your note text, optionally check boxes to mark as important or add a timestamp, then click Add Note.

For Assign a To-Do: Enter the task description, set a due date, choose who the task is assigned to, then click Create To-Do.

For other actions: Follow the on-screen instructions specific to that action.

Review your settings carefully before executing, especially for irreversible actions like sending emails or deleting contacts.

Time: 2-5 minutes

9. Confirm Completion

Wait for the system to process your action. Depending on the size of your workgroup and the type of action, this may take a few seconds to a few minutes.

You'll receive a confirmation message once the action completes successfully. For email blasts, you can access detailed analytics in the Reports section. For notes and tasks, the updates appear on individual contact records immediately.

Your workgroup remains in Group Actions until you clear it or close your session, so you can perform additional actions on the same group if needed.

Time: 1-5 minutes

Questions and Answers

Q: I added contacts by category, but the number in my workgroup doesn't match the number shown on the button. Why?

A: This usually means some contacts in that category were already in your workgroup from previous selections. The system prevents duplicates, so if you added "Clients (135)" and your workgroup only increased by 100, it means 35 of those clients were already included from another selection (like a tag or source).

Q: I accidentally added the wrong group of contacts. How do I fix this?

A: Click Clear Workgroup in the top right to start over completely, or use the REMOVE CONTACTS tab to exclude the specific category, tag, or source you added by mistake. You can also use the MANAGE tab to remove individual contacts one at a time.

Q: My workgroup shows 200 contacts, but "About This Workgroup" says only 150 are opted-in. What does this mean?

A: It means 200 contacts are in your workgroup, but only 150 have opted-in to receive emails. If you send an email blast, only the 150 opted-in contacts will receive it. The other 50 will be automatically excluded. This is normal and protects you from compliance issues.

Q: Can I perform multiple actions on the same workgroup without rebuilding it?

A: Yes. After completing one action, simply click the ACTIONS tab again and select another action. Your workgroup stays intact until you clear it or close your session.

Q: I sent contacts from my Contact List to Group Actions, but they're not showing up. What happened?

A: Make sure you clicked Send Results to Group Actions after filtering your list. Then navigate to Group Actions to see them. If you filtered your Contact List but didn't click that button, the contacts won't be added to your workgroup.

Q: How do I know if my email blast actually sent?

A: After clicking Send Blast Now, wait for the processing to complete. You'll see a confirmation message when the emails are sent. You can also check Reports → Email Blasts to see detailed analytics including how many emails were delivered, opened, and clicked.

Q: I clicked "Add Everyone" by accident. How do I undo this?

A: Click Clear Workgroup immediately to remove all contacts, then rebuild your workgroup with the correct criteria. Don't proceed to the ACTIONS tab if your workgroup isn't what you intended.

Q: What happens if someone is in my workgroup but has no email address?

A: For email-related actions, they'll be automatically skipped. For other actions (like adding notes or assigning tasks), they'll be included normally. The "About This Workgroup" section shows how many contacts have incomplete email addresses so you can review before taking action.

Q: Can I see exactly who received my email or had a note added?

A: Yes. After performing an action, check individual contact cards to see the note, task, or email in their activity history. For email blasts specifically, go to Reports → Email Blasts to see detailed recipient lists and engagement data.

Q: My workgroup disappeared. What happened?

A: Workgroups are temporary and clear when you log out or after a period of inactivity. If you need to perform the same action regularly, create a Saved Search with your criteria, then you can quickly send those results to Group Actions anytime.

Guide Type: How-To Guide

Estimated Time: 10-20 minutes

Next Guides: How to Send an Email Blast, How to Use Advanced Search, How to Create Saved Searches